Wintrust Financial Corporation $WTFC Shares Purchased by Northern Trust Corp

Key Points

• Northern Trust Corp has increased its stake in Wintrust Financial Corporation by 20.2%, owning 852,583 shares valued at approximately $95.9 million as of the latest SEC filing.
• Several large investors have also adjusted their holdings in Wintrust Financial, with Park Place Capital Corp raising its stake by an extraordinary 1,264.7% during the same period.
• Wall Street analysts have boosted their price targets for Wintrust Financial, with the consensus rating being a "Moderate Buy" and a price target of about $145.77.

Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in shares of Wintrust Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:WTFC - Free Report) by 20.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 852,583 shares of the bank's stock after acquiring an additional 143,401 shares during the quarter. Northern Trust Corp owned approximately 1.27% of Wintrust Financial worth $95,881,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WTFC. Earnest Partners LLC purchased a new position in Wintrust Financial during the 4th quarter valued at about $163,767,000. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in Wintrust Financial during the 1st quarter valued at about $47,769,000. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. purchased a new position in Wintrust Financial during the 4th quarter valued at about $51,754,000. Bank of America Corp DE increased its holdings in Wintrust Financial by 55.6% during the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 897,932 shares of the bank's stock valued at $111,981,000 after acquiring an additional 320,954 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Freestone Grove Partners LP purchased a new position in Wintrust Financial during the 4th quarter valued at about $35,652,000. 93.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on WTFC shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of Wintrust Financial from $130.00 to $138.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of Wintrust Financial from $137.00 to $151.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on shares of Wintrust Financial from $137.00 to $158.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group set a $145.00 price target on shares of Wintrust Financial and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Barclays reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $162.00 price target (up from $145.00) on shares of Wintrust Financial in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $145.77.

Wintrust Financial Trading Down 0.6%

NASDAQ:WTFC traded down $0.87 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $137.29. 573,999 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 368,581. The firm has a market cap of $9.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.99 and a beta of 0.85. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $129.60 and a 200 day simple moving average of $120.13. Wintrust Financial Corporation has a 52-week low of $89.10 and a 52-week high of $142.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.01.

Wintrust Financial (NASDAQ:WTFC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 21st. The bank reported $2.78 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.59 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $670.78 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $661.43 million. Wintrust Financial had a net margin of 18.06% and a return on equity of 12.08%. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.32 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Wintrust Financial Corporation will post 10.36 EPS for the current year.

Wintrust Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 21st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 7th were issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 7th. Wintrust Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.92%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Wintrust Financial news, COO David A. Dykstra sold 14,942 shares of Wintrust Financial stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.53, for a total value of $1,965,321.26. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 182,208 shares in the company, valued at $23,965,818.24. This trade represents a 7.58% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Edward J. Wehmer purchased 3,919 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, July 25th. The stock was bought at an average price of $26.35 per share, for a total transaction of $103,265.65. Following the acquisition, the insider owned 3,919 shares in the company, valued at $103,265.65. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 1.01% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wintrust Financial Company Profile

Wintrust Financial Corporation operates as a financial holding company. It operates in three segments: Community Banking, Specialty Finance, and Wealth Management. The Community Banking segment offers non-interest bearing deposits, non-brokered interest-bearing transaction accounts, and savings and domestic time deposits; home equity, consumer, and real estate loans; safe deposit facilities; and automatic teller machine (ATM), online and mobile banking, and other services.